


when a soul breaks

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:04:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: This is not a Disney movie. It is not a fairy tale. Two people don't meet and fall in love at first sight. There are no names written in the stars or on their skin.No. In the real world, souls don't bind, they break. When a person falls so in love with another person that they cannot in any way imagine life without them, their soul splinters so a piece of them will always be with the other.There are countless stories about the loving, happy mated couples. No one tells stories about the ones who find themselves mated alone.
Relationships: Maria DeLuca/Michael Guerin, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 32
Kudos: 198





	1. Chapter 1

He told himself it was research but really it was just torture. Self imposed torture which was honestly the worst.

Alex sighed and clicked play. He was sad enough and drunk enough and in enough pain that he didn’t quite care that each new movie made the ache in his soul hurt just a little bit more. It was worth it for the incremental hope they gave him that things wouldn’t always be this way.

Saturday passed in a haze as Alex burrowed deep into the bed, sheets and blankets and sweatshirts wrapped around him as he watched movie after movie.

Sunday was almost the exact same albeit with a moment of terror when a car pulled up outside. Alex spent one breathless minute trying to figure out how he would explain himself if he was caught before the car drove away. He hadn’t even had it in him to look outside and see who it was.

Monday morning he set an alarm for well before dawn. When it went off, he forced himself to ignore the dark sky and the chill in the air and throw off the many blankets piled around him. The lethargy was harder to shake. It took almost twice as long as it might normally take for Alex to attach the prosthetic, get dressed, and tidy up. In the end, as he was rushing out to his car, he was grateful for the extra early alarm: Sanders’ opened in just under half an hour and Michael was due back any second. If Alex didn’t vacate the scrapyard before then, Michael just might wonder what the hell Alex was doing sleeping in his Airstream.

Alex would strongly prefer to put that conversation off until never.

\---

All the stories and the folk tales and the goddamn Disney movies tell it the same way: soulmates are a rare breed but effervescent in their beauty and their reverence. Some, much older, tales talk of two people who are born to be together, as if divined by God or some other higher power. The Ancient Greeks spoke of people as if each person were only half of a completed whole. Modern day stories focus on the choice of it all. Where before, people believe their soulmates were chosen for them, new research has shown that really, a soul bond is a choice. An almost entirely subconscious choice but a choice nonetheless. Every romance (Disney, Nicholas Sparks, whoever else wants to make a buck off of the phenomenon) shows two people so hopelessly, deeply in love with each other that their souls join together and bind them to the other for life. It’s always nearly unbearably romantic.

And it’s all fucking crap.

Alex has watched more of those movies than he’d care to admit recently and they all said the same thing and none of it was real. Somehow, some way, it never occurred to anyone that a soul bond is technically a one way street. When a person falls so deeply in love with another that they truly cannot imagine themselves without the other, a piece of their soul splinters off and attaches itself to the other. It creates a bond between the two that cannot be severed, not even in death. What is never discussed is that this doesn’t happen both ways, not usually. Even in pairings where the bond is reciprocal, the people involved never bond at the same time. There is _ always _ a period where a person is bonded to another, their soul fragmented. 

No one ever talks about what it’s like to live with only half your soul.

Alex imagines it’s because no one wants to think about what exactly that means. Which, he can relate. He too would really rather not think about what it means. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get that luxury.

He’s discovered that losing part of your soul is not such an easy thing. It creates a bond to the other person, yes, but it doesn’t actually _ do _ anything. Without the other person’s knowledge or involvement, Alex doesn’t sense emotions or thoughts and he sure as hell can’t communicate telepathically. Every single ‘bonus’ of a soul bond that he’s ever heard about doesn’t apply to one sided bonds. What does apply? Is an ache in his very soul that never goes away. 

In the five weeks since Caulfield exploded and took half of Michael’s family with it, since Michael said they would talk and then ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, Alex has tried to piece together what happened. So far, all he knows is that his decision to stay in a building about to explode, simply so he wouldn’t have to live without Michael, tore his soul in half and the other half bound itself to Michael. He knows that Michael is entirely unaware of this development. And he knows that the separation between the two of them is literally tearing his soul to bits. Michael has only been in the same room as him twice since then and both times it was with everyone else there as well. The second Alex tried to speak to him alone Michael just said, “I can’t do this with you, Alex. Not now. Not anymore,” and drove away. But those precious few seconds where Michael was close enough to touch, Alex could _ feel _ the halves of his soul reaching out for each other, trying to knit itself back together. Each time Michael left, his soul ripped again.

None of the Disney movies (or Nicholas Sparks or whoever) has had any answers for Alex. Soulmates are rare enough that there’s almost no research on them except what has gone into popular media. Which, surprise surprise, does not include the painful part of the phenomenon.

Alex has tried to soothe the ache in his soul by surrounding himself with Michael’s things whenever possible (made easier by the fact that Michael apparently doesn’t actually live at his Airstream anymore. He tries not to think about where exactly he might be living these days) but it’s effects are limited. Cuddling Michael’s sweater for hours is nothing compared to what it felt like to stand next to the man for a few seconds.

“Hey.”

Alex jerked, a thud and a splash answering him as he knocked a cup of coffee to the floor. He stared at it in confusion, positive that he hadn’t bought coffee recently.

“Hey,” this time the voice was much softer and Alex looked up to see Kyle staring at him, worry clear in his eyes. “Are you okay? You look like shit.”

“You really know how to charm a guy,” Alex bit back softly.

Kyle put his wrist to Alex’s forehead and Alex didn’t have the energy to move away. “You’re not warm.”

“When did you get here?” Here being the Project Shepherd bunker. Alex wasn’t even sure when he himself got here, if he was being honest. His days were starting to get very hazy, hours passing by without him noticing.

Kyle crouched next to him. “I got back about ten minutes ago.” _ Fuck _, Alex thought. Back meant Kyle had been here already. “I met you here this morning at nine?” Kyle searched his face for recognition but Alex knew he wouldn’t find any. “Alex, are you okay? Have you been here since I left?”

Alex nodded slowly, his eyes searching behind Kyle’s head for a clock. _ Fuck _. It was almost midnight.

Kyle reached for his wrist, his fingers locating Alex’s pulse with ease. “You’ve been looking a little rundown the past few weeks but this is pretty bad. You need sleep, Alex.”

“I sleep plenty.” He probably sleeps too much, honestly.

“It doesn’t look like it. You look like you’re about to keel over, honestly. How are you even working?” Kyle looks past Alex’s shoulder to see what he was working on. “Are those more Caulfield files?”

They were, in fact. Alex had been searching through them to see if there had been any research on alien soul bonds but so far there was nothing. 

“Alex?” Kyle looked much more worried now. “What were you working on?”

“Maybe you’re right,” Alex forced out, his voice just above a mumble. “Maybe I do need more sleep.”

“Yeah,” Kyle agreed slowly. “You might need more than that. How long have you been feeling this bad?”

Alex shrugged as he pushed himself to his feet and staggered to the side. Kyle immediately held out a steadying hand but Alex waved him off and grabbed his crutch. He slowly shut down the computers and gathered his things as Kyle pestered him with questions about his health. He had no intention of revealing the soul bond to anyone, except _ maybe _ Michael, so he mostly shrugged in answer to whatever Kyle asked.

It worked well enough to get them out of the bunker and to their cars. It stopped working when Kyle refused to let Alex drive.

“You can barely stand, Alex!” Kyle spoke as calmly as his frustration would allow. “You’re too tired to drive and I really don’t want you swerving into oncoming traffic trying to keep your eyes open.”

Alex leveled a look at him. “It’s Roswell and it’s midnight on a weeknight. I’ll be the only car on the road the whole way, I’ll be fine.”

“That’s not the point and you know it. It’s a long drive to the cabin and anything could happen. At the very least, come to my place and sleep on the couch for a few hours.”

“I’ll be _ fine _,” Alex reiterated as he stepped around Kyle and threw his stuff into his car. “Really. I might not be out here tomorrow, though.”

“Good,” Kyle responded immediately. “Take the whole damn week. You could definitely use a few days off, even if you weren’t sick.”

“Fine,” Alex agreed as he slid behind the wheel.

“Well now I know you’re really sick,” Kyle quipped. The corners of his mouth were turned down in worry but Alex appreciated his attempt at light heartedness. “Call me if you need anything.” Alex nodded. “I’m serious, Alex. I really don’t like you going out to the cabin by yourself.”

“I will be fine,” Alex promised. He carefully didn’t mention that he wasn’t actually going to the cabin, that he hadn’t been out there for more than a few minutes in weeks. “I promise to call if I need anything. Really.”

Kyle paused a beat before nodding and stepping out of the way. Once he was clear, Alex pulled the door shut and started the car. He was gone before Kyle could have time to second guess his decision. 

As he crawled into Michael’s bed twenty minutes later, half heartedly grabbing at whatever blankets and clothes he could reach, Alex finally accepted that something would have to give. Michael wasn’t home enough for his clothes and his belongings to have much of an effect on Alex anymore and the longer he stayed away from Michael the more his soul splintered. Soon, Michael would have more of Alex’s soul than Alex would and Alex wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be alive after that.

\---

It was three days before Michael finally went home. Three days where Alex didn’t wake up. Three days where he wasted away without notice. 


	2. Chapter 2

Michael felt different after Caulfield. The first few weeks he was lost in the haze of meeting and losing his mother, in the trauma after Noah, after Max died. Once the haze started to lift and he really began to take notice, he thought it was all down to Maria. The woman had been by his side as he struggled. She’d been there when he’d needed her the most and he would never be able to repay that kindness. 

His first day sober since Max died, since Caulfield, Michael woke up feeling warm and safe. Maria lay on his chest, her arms around him and Michael smiled. This is what it was supposed to feel like. This is what a real relationship, an easy relationship is supposed to feel like. Loved, not hated, safe not afraid, calm not angry. He loved Alex, he knew it like he knew his next breath was coming, but it had never been like this. That day, he didn’t drink so much as a drop of alcohol or acetone; he was too lost in the euphoria of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was loved. 

The feeling only grew as the days passed, mostly without him noticing. When he sat and thought about it it felt like a warm blanket or his favorite sweatshirt (an old Air Force hoodie he’d stolen from Alex years before). If he was being sentimental at all, he’d probably say he blossomed under it. He stopped drinking, because the drink muffled the feeling, and he started spending all of his free time with Maria. Her smile, her laugh, her kisses, they all lit a fire in him. It paled in comparison to the actual warmth blooming inside him but he chalked that down to his reaction to her as opposed to the way she made him feel. Either way, it was clearly Maria making him feel this way. Nothing else in his life had changed.

It was during the third week after Caulfield that Michael saw Alex for the first time since the night Max died. He looked awful, his skin pale and drawn, huge bags under his eyes like he wasn’t sleeping. His eyes lit up when he saw Michael but Michael held back. As much as he ached to go to Alex (he always ached to be around Alex) he couldn’t. He may love him, but loving Alex was painful. Too painful. Not like loving Maria. 

Alex flinched when Michael grabbed Maria’s hand and Michael swore he felt it like a physical blow, a chink in the armor of warmth he’d become ensconsed in. Michael ignored it and focused on the issue Liz had brought them together to discuss. All throughout, he felt Alex’s gaze like a physical thing but Michael ignored it. He ignored the fact that the warmth surrounding him turned into an inferno under Alex’s gaze. He ignored it all and as soon as Liz was done speaking, he left. Maria was staying behind to spend time with Liz so Michael didn’t have any reason to stick around.

“Guerin.”

Michael almost sagged against his car at the sound of Alex’s voice. He felt like he hadn’t heard it in years. The warmth inside him grew until he felt like he was on fire. In a good way, but still on fire nonetheless. He turned his head to see Alex open his mouth to say something more but whatever it was, he knew he couldn’t handle it.

“I can’t do this with you, Alex. Not now. Not anymore.” He shook his head and got in his truck without waiting for Alex to reply. Michael peeled away and very carefully didn’t check the rearview mirror until he knew the house (and Alex) were out of sight.

Their second meeting a week and a half later went much the same way except Alex looked worse. Michael was beginning to worry that he was sick or worse but Valenti didn’t seem concerned so he brushed it aside. If the doctor, and Alex’s closest friend these days, wasn’t worried, Michael didn’t really have a right to. 

Alex didn’t try to talk to him this time but he did follow him as Michael moved around. It was nothing overt but he kept finding excuses to be in whatever room Michael was. 

They were there for almost two hours and Alex looked better by the time Michael and Maria left; his color was coming back and he didn’t seem nearly so shaky on his feet. As they drove back to the Pony, Michael couldn’t help but realize that though he was warmer than he’d ever been, that blanket still wrapping him up tight, he grew colder the further they got away from the house. 

It was the first time Michael had seriously considered that Maria may not be the cause of this feeling. 

No. That wasn’t right.

It was the first time Michael admitted to himself that he  _ knew _ the feeling wasn’t coming from Maria.

While the first few days and weeks, Michael had only registered the feeling as safety and security and love, the more time that passed, the more he realized it for what it was.

Alex.

He didn’t know how and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out, but Michael knew his sobriety, among other things, was in thanks to Alex. As much as the truth made him want to down a bottle of acetone, he refused to give up this feeling. Whatever it was.

It was almost six weeks post-Caulfield that Michael realized something was dangerously wrong. The last week had proven that whatever this thing was it was coming from Alex. Half of the time (most of the time) it felt like Alex’s physical presence, like Michael was constantly wrapped up in his arms. Every day, that feeling grew until Michael had to keep checking that Alex wasn’t actually standing next to him. 

“Have you guys seen Alex?” Liz burst into the Pony, Kyle and Isobel tight on her heels. Michael and Maria exchanged looks and shook their heads in unison, both bowing their heads slightly in shame. Their relationship had seriously damaged both of their relationships with the man in question and neither had really made an effort to fix that. Not yet.

“Is he okay?” Maria asked.

“I don’t think so,” Kyle answered. “I saw him on Monday and he looked really sick so I sent him home from the bunker and told him to take a few days off. I called him on Tuesday to check in but he didn’t answer and when I went out to the cabin he wasn’t there.” He stopped and shook his head. “I knew I shouldn’t have let him drive home that night. He was in really rough shape.”

“We just drove down every route he might have taken home but there was no sign of him or his car,” Liz told them. “And his phone’s going straight to voicemail which means it’s probably dead.”

“Did you check the hospital?” Maria asked. “If he was as sick as you said maybe he needed a doctor.”

“Oh he definitely needed a doctor,” Kyle agreed easily, “but he refused to even let me check him over. Kept saying he was fine.” He sighed. “I did check the hospital, though. He’s not there.”

“Alright,” Michael stood up and put his hat on. “Let’s go find him. Split up and search the town. If he’s not here, we track down his father and brothers and see if they took advantage of him being sick.”

“I’ll head downtown,” Liz offered. “I can ask around, see if anyone’s seen him. Maria, can you come with me? We’ll cover more ground.”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Maria waved down her bartender and let him know she was leaving.

“I’ll check the hospital again,” Kyle announced, “talk to the EMTs and first responders and see if there was a car accident reported. I’ll call my mom, too. I didn’t want to get her involved until I was sure it was something to worry about but…”

“I’ll head out to the ranches in case he got turned around heading home,” Michael grabbed his keys. “Iz-”

“Already got the word out at the club. Also called my Air Force contacts from when I set up his Welcome Home parade and the drive in fundraiser. If anyone hears anything, I should be the first to know.”

“Ok,” Liz took a deep breath. “Everyone stay in touch and text the groupchat the second you hear anything.”

Michael didn’t wait around for more team planning, he just pushed past Liz and hurried out to his car. When he pulled out of the parking lot, he turned west towards Alex’s cabin and the outlying ranches. There weren’t many ways for Alex to get lost going from the Project Shepherd bunker to his cabin but if he did, he would most likely end up out there.

Two streets later he inexplicably turned right. At the next intersection he meant to turn left to get back on course but he kept going straight. It was as if his hands were no longer listening to him.

Michael tried to course correct three more times before he ended up at Sanders’. He was about to pull a u-turn and head back out when he caught a glimpse of Alex’s car parked behind the Airstream. 

“The fuck?” He muttered as he threw the truck in park and turned the ignition off. “Alex?!” He called as he got out.

There was no answer.

“Alex!?” Louder this time. Still no answer.

Michael shook his head and pulled out his phone to let everyone he’d found Alex’s car but no sign of Alex yet.

He yanked the door of his Airstream open and let it bounce back against the side as he stomped up the stairs. “What the hell are you do-” Michael stopped cold at the sight of Alex’s slumped form in his bed. Infuriatingly, the ever present warmth didn’t leave him. If anything, it was nearly tangible at this point. “Alex?” The anger and the frustration had disappeared from his voice and left only fear. Michael  _ knew _ in that moment that every ounce of warmth he carried with him had come from Alex. 

Alex was paler than Michael had ever seen him, his skin almost white. His face was gaunt and-

Michael stopped breathing. Except-

It wasn’t Michael’s chest that wasn’t moving.


	3. Chapter 3

If you asked him later, Michael wouldn’t be able to tell you what happened next. What he knew was he was standing in the middle of his Airstream staring at Alex’s body in his bed. Alex’s de-

He blinked and he was curled up on his knees next to Alex while Kyle Valenti performed chest compressions. Liz was crouched by Alex’s head, tears streaming down her face. Michael stared at her and thought dimly that maybe he ought to be crying. He even put a hand to his cheek to see if he was. It came away dry.

There were two hands on his shoulders, clutching tightly as if preparing to hold him back. Hold him back from what, Michael wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure whose hands they were. 

Kyle sat back on his heels.

“No!” Liz yelled at him. “Don’t stop! You can’t stop!” Kyle looked at her sadly and shook his head. “No!” She yelled again.

“He’s gone,” Kyle’s voice was barely a whisper but it echoed through the scrapyard like a gunshot. “He’s been gone for a while.”

“No.” This time it was Maria. Her voice came from Michael’s left which told him it was Isobel whose fingers dug into his shoulders. He barely registered it, too focused on trying to make sense of what he was seeing and feeling.

It was undeniable that Alex was dead. Michael, regretfully, had seen dead bodies before and Alex was definitely dead. But it was also undeniable that Michael  _ felt  _ him right next to him. His fingers twitched to reach out to his right and grab Alex’s hand even though Alex’s hand was to his left. Alex was radiating warmth and love and peace and it felt like a blanket on Michael’s soul.

But Alex was dead.

“What- what was it?” Maria choked out. “Was he just sick? I- I mean he’s been looking run down lately but not like he was going to d-”

Kyle shook his head. “We’d have to do an autopsy to find out.”

“We need to call the police.” Isobel’s voice was surprisingly watery. “We can’t- this isn’t something we should hide.”

“No.” Everyone looked at Michael with varying degrees of surprise. 

“Michael-”

“No,” his voice was surprisingly firm. “No cops. No paramedics. No fucking autopsy. Just... no.”

“Michael, he’s dead. What do you plan to do, exactly? Stare at him forever?” Isobel squeezed his shoulders tighter as she spoke and Michael had to wonder if she’d known what he was going to do before he did. Likely, since Michael hadn’t realized what he intended until just that moment.

He shrugged her off and leaned forward.

“Michael-” she reached for him but he pushed her back with a thought. He grabbed the collar of Alex’s t-shirt and ripped it in half, ignoring everyone as they shouted for him to stop. Michael didn’t stop. He didn’t think. He just stared at Alex’s dead body, felt him sitting next to him, put his hand on Alex’s chest, and  _ pushed _ .

He had no idea what he was doing, healing always having been Max’s thing, but he figured if he willed it hard enough it might work. Or it might kill him. Michael was okay with that. He wasn’t sure he could face living a life forever haunted by the specter of Alex without being able to touch him.

Michael reached out for that specter with his mind and shoved it back into Alex. A bright glow erupted from his entire body but he didn’t notice. He was too busy scrambling inside his own mind for every memory he had of Alex, good and bad, and throwing it at Alex’s body. Distantly, he heard Isobel screaming and he knew he was giving too much of himself to Alex but he didn’t care. 

He didn’t stop until he felt Alex’s heart start beating under his hand. 

He didn’t stop until he heard Alex take a deep shuddering breath. 

He didn’t stop until he felt Alex grasp his wrist and whisper  _ Michael _ in his mind.

Then, and only then, did Michael let go. He lifted off of Alex with a deep sigh and immediately collapsed to the side, the world fading out around him until all he saw was Alex. Hands grabbed at him and turned him over but they didn’t register.

_ No _ , Alex whispered again without moving his lips,  _ you don’t get to leave. Not now. Not like this. _

Michael inched a shaky hand towards Alex, felt more than saw Alex do the same, but they couldn’t reach. They were both too weak.

There was a yell and then someone grabbed their hands and linked them together before cutting off Michael’s shirt and turning him over until he and Alex were chest to chest, skin to skin. The world started to settle back into place as Alex loomed large inside him. Where before Alex was a silent specter, present in full but untouchable and ultimately unknowable, now he was  _ here _ . He was under and around and inside of Michael. Michael knew every inch of him (mind, body, and soul) better than he knew himself. 

Most importantly, Michael knew that Alex was alive. Unequivocally alive. 

There was a sharp pull and Michael lost all sensation of the outside world. One moment he felt the wind on his faces, the gravel digging into his knee and his back, and the next he was somewhere else. Somewhere more. 

And there was Alex.

_ You idiot _ , Alex greeted.

_ What is this place? _ Michael stared around him in wonder. He couldn’t place where he was. It was safe, he was sure, but the details of their surroundings kept slipping from him.

Alex shrugged and Michael felt it.  _ Our safe place, I think _ .

_ What is going on? I don’t understand. I- I could feel you. When you weren’t there, I mean. _

_ You could? _ Alex was surprised.

_ Yeah. How? _

_ Do you know what a soul bond is? _

_ Vaguely. I figured it was something humans did so I didn’t need to know. _

_ Ah _ . Alex shifted awkwardly. It was adorable.  _ Well humans, and I guess aliens, can- when they- fuck why is this so hard to explain? _ He rubbed at his forehead.  _ Ok. So, in moments where a person is so, I don’t know, in love? Devoted? Willing to give anything and everything simply because of how much they love someone? _ Alex’s words were inadequate, they both knew, but Michael understood anyway.  _ Anyway, when that happens, a person’s soul splinters and part of it attaches to the person they love. After- after Caulfield, my soul latched on to you. And uh- once a bond is formed, contact between the two people is required to stop the soul from fracturing further. Since we haven’t seen each other, more and more of my soul transferred to you. It’s probably why you felt me. It’s definitely why I died. My soul wasn’t mine anymore. _

Michael took a deep breath as he processed what Alex was saying. By avoiding Alex, Michael had killed him.

Alex cupped his cheeks and pressed their foreheads together.  _ That was on  _ me _ , Michael. Not you. I knew what was happening and I knew how to stop it and I didn’t. _

_ Why not? _

_ Because you chose a life away from me and it wasn’t my place to force myself on you just because I felt too deeply for you. _

Michael grabbed the back of his neck and stared into his eyes.  _ I love you. _

_ Clearly. _

Michael snorted. Okay yeah, the whole active, reciprocal soul bond kind of took the mystery out of that.  _ My  _ point _ is that I would never have wanted you to stay away. Not if I knew what was happening. I was messed up after Caulfield and Noah and Max and yeah I chose someone different but that doesn’t mean I ever loved you any less, not even for a moment.  _

They closed their eyes and sank deeper into the bond, their souls intermingling until they couldn’t tell who was who. They shared two bodies, four eyes, two mouths, four hands, three feet. They were one.

And then they opened their eyes.

“Oh thank God,” Isobel whispered. She was perched on the edge of a chair they didn’t recognize but she leaned forward immediately and wrapped her arms around Michael’s body. “I thought I’d lost you too, you  _ fucking _ asshole.” She squeezed him tighter until he broke contact with Alex to return the hug. All at once, he was himself again. He still felt Alex in every way but they were once again individual people. It was disconcerting.

“Where are we?” Alex asked. “What happened?”

“What happened?” Liz choked out a laugh from somewhere Michael couldn’t see. “You fucking died, Alex, that’s what happened.”

“Right,” Alex said slowly. “I got that part. I meant, what happened after that?”

“You two soul bonded,” Kyle plopped himself into the chair Isobel had vacated. “Once Michael brought you back, I put the pieces together. Ordinarily it’s hard to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic flu symptoms so well but the way you two reacted when we separated made it clear what it was. We put Michael on top of you and tried to get as much skin contact as we were comfortable with and then we brought you here.” He paused. “That was four days ago.”

“Four days?!” Michael and Alex spoke in unison. Isobel finally pulled back to smack Michael on the shoulder but he understood. He’d be freaking out if Isobel went into a four day coma too.

Kyle nodded. “We were starting to get worried that it was too late.” He looked between them. “But you two look fine now?” 

They both nodded at him before turning to smile at each other. “We’re good.”

“Yeah,” Isobel drawled. “And you’re fucking soulmates.”


End file.
